Camino Day 9: Redondela to Pontevedra, 19.1 km (24 September)
Our weather so far has been interesting, starting with the heatwave in Portugal, a couple of days of mist and one day of rain. After yesterday’s glorious afternoon, we should have known that the weather would be on the turn as the sunset over the Vigo bridge was blocked by clouds drifting down from the north,
Hostal Antolin was pretty basic, apart from the view and our choice of dinner. The place is full of organised groups of nordic types who speak loudly and play bingo at mealtimes. As there is a God, they were served warmed-over spag bol for mains, and don’t mention the war, even if they were Danish, in which case, don’t mention Quisling. We had a stunning oven-roast hake with seafood and went to sleep replete. But those thin walls! one day, Apple will release noise-cancelling headphones that are worn by noisy people, which would solve many issues of oversharing in cheap hotels.
The weather wasn’t awful, but the day had it’s frustrations. The Hostal stands on the old path, which was moved at some stage to be more direct and on the other side of the railway at Cesantes, so the waymarking for the first half hour was a bit guess work and looking for that elusive shell. Then we had an epic 45 minutes or so when we’re were on the main road from Ridondela down into Arcade. Walking less than two metres from trucks spraying water everywhere is not ideal, but needs must. Arcade was a bit of a madhouse, with lots of pilgrims trying to cross the old bridge which is still open to road traffic.
Then we headed into the hills and some pleasant, if damp, walking. Most of the southern paths have now joined up, so we are seeing at least double the number of pilgrims, and its surprising how crowded it can get. No quick sneaking off for a bush wee. Those things need to be planned, scouted and executed with speed and discretion, although not everyone we saw seemed to have the same social mores. And then, to our surprise, in the middle of the forest was a clearing with a miniature version of Woodstock, it seemed. A veritable bush cafe!
We arrived in Pontevedra in better condition that we had feared, and as we were early, grabbed a very acceptable menu a dia at a cafe. Then down to out hotel, which was a bit basic but had big rooms and four poster beds. The donna in charge was helpful, but rather odd. She looked old enough to have remembered Wellington’s redcoats marching through town, used a magnifying glass to see her computer screen, and spent a large part of the afternoon watching Star Trek Voyager in a very poorly dubbed version. When out bags finally arrived, Paula was horrified to see her try to carry one of them up the stairs. My bag was probably bigger than she was!
Pontevedra is quite a big place with a newish university, but the old town is very much intact and, as the rain stopped and the evening was lovely, we went sightseeing. We loved the Church of the Pilgrim Virgin, a baroque gem in the shape of a scallop shell. The ancient Franciscan church was that Spanish mix of medieval, roccoco and bad taste that is both fascinating and alien. The playas and streets were full of students, pilgrims and locals having an evening bebidas, so we did too. Paula found the perfect little tapas bar for a snack and a couple of vinos.
